Antonín Dvořák - Piano Works (Radoslav Kvapil)

Information

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

• 8 Humoresques, Op. 101
• American Suite in A major, Op. 98
• Dumka and Furiant, Op. 12
• Silhouettes, Op. 8

Radoslav Kvapil, conductor
Date: 1998
Label: Regis-Alto
http://altocd.com/alc1044

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction

A unique opprtunity to hear the original piano music of composer Antonín Dvořák played on his own carefully restored and maintained 1879 Bösendorfer piano by Radoslav Kvapil, recognized as one of the world’s finest exponents of Czech piano music.

Recorded in the Hluboŝ Castle, Czech Republic, October 1998, the album was first issued on Accord 20682 back in 1999, and producer is Zdenĕk Zahradník. The Alto website wrongly said it was record in 1988.

Mastered for Alto by Paul Arden-Taylor and released as ALC 1044.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Review

In these 1998 recordings, Kvapil—to my mind the leading exponent of Czech piano music—plays the Bösendorfer that Dvorák acquired in 1879, on and for which much of this music was composed. In his program notes, the pianist discusses the instrument’s low pitch (435 hz), its “short-sounding tone,” and its “old Viennese mechanism, which of necessity limits its opportunities for virtuosity.” His theory is that all of this contributed to the nature of the music; that Dvorák, like Chopin, composed for his particular instrument, whereas Beethoven, Schumann, and Liszt composed for an imagined instrument that would only later be built.

This piano is indeed very different from a modern Bösendorfer; its basic tone is dark and dusky, its lack of brilliance suiting the music perfectly. It suggests an aged, mellowed wine. It is not obvious, however, where to draw the line between the instrument and Kvapil’s personal magic, as this is a sound and an interpretive approach that he has cultivated on modern Steinways as well. He knows his music beyond the borders of Bohemia, too; the opening Moderato of the “American” Suite swings like Joplin, and the Allegretto suggests a Gottschalk cakewalk. The more one listens to this disc, the more one is drawn into Dvorák’s world. I am ready to believe that this is 19th-century music-making, and not just for the instrument’s period cachet. Its unfamiliar character, however, does make it difficult to evaluate the quality of the recorded sound.

The problem with this disc lies not with artist, instrument, or engineering. Dvorák was primarily a string-player (viola), and his piano music has always been regarded as a minor corner of his œuvre . Although his ubiquitous Humoresque No. 7 was composed for piano, it is far better known in the arrangements for violin and for orchestra. The “American” Suite, too, is more often heard in its orchestral revision (although the American connection is stronger on the piano), and both sets of Slavonic Dances originated as piano duets. All with good reason. I recommend this disc for its colorful recreation of another world, and for its historical interest, but I would much rather hear Brahms on this Bösendorfer: the intermezzos or the Bb minor Concerto.

-- James H. North, FANFARE

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Mar09/Dvorak_piano_alc1044.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Humoresques-Op-101-American-Suite/dp/B001HAWURS

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Antonín Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer. Following the nationalist example of Bedřich Smetana, Dvořák frequently employed aspects, specifically rhythms, of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. He wrote nine symphonies, ten operas, three concertos, several symphonic poems and more than 40 works of chamber music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k

***

Radoslav Kvapil (born March 15, 1934 in Brno, Czech Republic). As well as being a published authority on Czech piano music from all eras, Radoslav Kvapil is also a sensitive and skilled pianist, most comfortable and always at his best in the music of his homeland. As of the new century, into his sixth decade of performing, Kvapil still travels widely to perform in concerts, at festivals, and to teach master classes.

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/radoslav-kvapil-mn0001824010/biography

-----------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!